Nature's Peril - the Complete Edition

by Duncan Pile

  Rimulth reprimanded himself. This was no time to give in to fearful thoughts. Abandoning himself to the bond, he tuned fully into the air spirit’s presence, and was flooded once again with its perceptions. Suddenly, shockingly, he was seeing through its eyes. He was thousands of feet in the air, soaring over the valley below. Not only could he see what the elemental was seeing, but he could feel its physical sensations. The wind roared through its feathers and streamed along its beak. It could see for miles, its vision crystal clear. Even the movements of tiny creatures below was evident to him, scampering from rock to rock, unaware of the hawk flying way above. He didn’t feel at all dizzy, but then no self-respecting tribesman of Eagle’s Roost would! Rimulth was exhilarated. This had never happened before! Nor did he think any of the others had experienced it! He was literally flying!

  “Rimulth!” someone said, shaking his knee. Rimulth’s eyes snapped open. He was back in the pass, and Gaspi was the one calling his name. “What’s going on?” Gaspi asked. “You’re acting weird, pulling all kinds of faces.”

  “I can see, Gaspi!”

  “Er, yeah. So can I.”

  “No, I can see! Through the spirit’s eyes!”

  Gaspi stared at him in stunned silence. “You’re kidding?”

  “I’m not. And I can feel what it’s feeling…physically.”

  “This is extraordinary,” Heath said. “Unheard of!”

  “How did you do it?” Gaspi asked with a hungry expression.

  “We can talk about that later,” Voltan interjected. “We need to take advantage of this. Rimulth, can you do it again, and let us know what you’re seeing, as you see it?”

  “I can try,” he said. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to connect with the spirit’s presence. It took a moment, but then he was back there, occupying the spirit’s mind and body. He felt a sense of welcome from the elemental – it was like coming home!

  The spirit was less than halfway across the valley. Ahead, the skies were clear, and they were in no immediate danger from the ogres, roaming about below.

  “The ogres fill the valley,” he said, without opening his eyes. “There’s nowhere obvious to transport to. I’ll let you know if we see anything.”

  “Stay alert,” Voltan’s voice said.

  “I will,” Rimulth responded, and lapsed into silence.

  …

  Gaspi used the Wizard’s Eye to check on the ogres while they waited. He hovered at the north end of the pass, watching them make steady progress up the trail. They never tired or slowed, heading relentlessly towards the source of the magic they could detect.

  It was very tense, watching their enemies approach, knowing that every passing minute increased the likelihood of a battle. At least he had something to do! The others were huddled behind the magic of his shield, waiting to hear from either him or Rimulth, who was communing with the air spirit. Communing – flying more like! Gaspi felt a surge of something ugly, and had to admit that he was jealous. He’d love to connect with Loreill like that – to share his perspective. Realising what he was thinking, Gaspi couldn’t help laughing at himself. If he saw through Loreill’s eyes, all he’d get would be a very close view of the ground! Why in the world did Loreill choose to be a ferret?

  He felt a flash of indignation through the bond, and sent back the mental equivalent of a grin. He loved the earth spirit unconditionally, and didn’t genuinely want to change anything about him. It’d be nice to fly though!

  He looked down at the ogres as they climbed. They were still a good hour away, which gave the air spirit enough time to get to the far side of the valley. Dismissing the magic of the Eye, he returned to Voltan to give his report.

  …

  Rimulth soared with the air spirit for the next hour, the initial adrenaline rush of flight wearing off and leaving him with an unfading sense of wonder. He felt removed from his troubles, his perspective broadened beyond any scope he’d previously known. He felt peaceful, full of joy, alive!

  He reminded himself he still had a task to do, his eyes roaming the ground below and the skies ahead, looking for signs of trouble, but so far they hadn’t been bothered. At his urging, the air spirit swooped down, bringing them closer to the ground. He felt the angle of its wings alter, the wing rushing over their rounded tops and pushing them lower. They kept on dropping until the ogres below seemed less like ants and more like cats and dogs. Everywhere he looked they were gathered around cook pots, their lumpy heads covered only in sparse patches of hair. What had they called themselves? Urzaaks? Among them walked the Kaas, with that broad ridge of horn on their brows and bloody smear painted on their chests. The Urzaaks were a rowdy bunch, jostling each other around the cook pots. From his perspective, he could see several scuffles breaking out, one of which became an all-out brawl even as he watched. Three Kaas strode over to break it up, meting out justice in their own brutal style.

  There were groups of white-haired ogres among the rabble, heavily bedecked in bone jewellery, and carrying ornamented staffs of office. The shamans! With a thrill of concern, he wondered if they would sense him and the air spirit. According to Voltan they shouldn’t be able to detect elemental magic but, even so, seeing the shamans so close made him nervous. They didn’t look up at him however, continuing to move among the throng, and everywhere they went, the aggressive, volatile behaviour of the Urzaaks and Kaas turned to obsequiousness, perhaps even fear.

  Rimulth felt a sudden stab of panic from the air spirit, which banked sharply to the left. A hiss of air told Rimulth what had disturbed it – an arrow, loosed from below. The spirit flapped its wings madly, gaining altitude and moving beyond reach. Rimulth cursed himself. It had been him that wanted to go lower and take a closer look at the ogres. His curiosity had almost got the air spirit wounded, or perhaps even killed! He apologised profusely, but the spirit was more concerned about reaching a safe altitude. No further arrows followed, and Rimulth found himself hoping it had just been an opportunistic archer, seeing a living target within range of its bow. Rimulth stored the information away to tell the others – ogre bows had a much longer range than he’d expected. He supposed it made sense; they were tall and strong, with extremely long limbs. Their bows would match those dimensions, and would naturally shoot much further than an ordinary weapon.

  Up ahead, the terrain rose once again, sloping up towards the rocky shoulder Voltan wanted to transport to. The pass itself was craggy, full of nooks and crannies to hide in. They’d definitely find somewhere to transport to, which would bring them one step closer to the Labyrinth. The others would rightly be glad of that fact, but to his great shame, Rimulth was filled with dread at the thought of it. Once they reached the Labyrinth, he’d have to do something that entirely unmanned him – go underground. He shuddered uncontrollably. Ever since being trapped under a rock-fall as a child, he’d been terrified of caves. The trial he underwent to become a shaman had drawn on that terror, testing him to his limits. He’d been drugged and left to experience frightening visions, in which he was convinced he was once again trapped under a rock-slide. Fear had awoken his innate arcane ability, enabling him to shift the rocks away from his body by magic, thus passing the test. But even though he’d succeeded in enduring the test, he had not been cured of his terror. Rocks had fallen on the group just days previously, not long after leaving Ironhall, and he’d almost soiled himself! Then they’d crossed the valley of shattered stone, and he’d been a nervous wreck until they were well clear of it. The thought of voluntarily entering a tunnel seemed like madness to him. And it wasn’t just a tunnel – it was a maze of tunnels, with the whole weight of the mountain pressing down on them. Rimulth suppressed another shudder and forcefully thrust the fearful thoughts away. Dwelling on it threatened to steal his resolve altogether! He’d just have to deal with it when they reached the Labyrinth.

  The air spirit rose on the thermals, making for the pass. It was time to let Voltan know how close they were. He opened his eyes and immediately c
losed them again, jarred by the visual shock. One moment he’d been soaring through the air, the next he was still. One moment he could see for miles, the next he was back in the cleft in the rock, huddled with his companions. He opened them again, just a crack, and then fully. He groaned and stretched out limbs that had become stiff from sitting still for so long.

  “How are we doing?” Voltan asked.

  “Good,” Rimulth said. “We’re nearly at the pass. Ten minutes or so and we’ll be able to transport. It looks like it won’t be hard to find a place. How close are the ogres?”

  “Gaspi’s gone for another look, but they’re closing on us. It’ll be tight.”

  “When is it not?” Rimulth said dryly, standing up and flexing his arms and legs. Gaspi was sitting in front of him, his eyes closed and his hands around the Wizard’s Eye. Rimulth reflected that using the Eye must be very similar to what he’d just been doing – the only difference being that you couldn’t shoot an arrow at the Wizard’s Eye! When using the Eye, Gaspi saw through an insubstantial, summoned orb that couldn’t be attacked, but the air spirit was always exposed and at risk.

  Gaspi opened his eyes and saw the tribesman standing over him. “How close?” he asked.

  “Ten minutes, maybe less. What about the ogres?”

  Gaspi’s shoulders fell in relief. “Longer than that. Not by much maybe, but definitely longer than ten minutes.”

  “How sure are you about the timing Rimulth?” Voltan asked.

  “Pretty sure. I can go back and let you know when we near the pass?”

  “Yes, do that,” Voltan said. “But keep your bow in your hand, and be ready to get back here the moment I call you.”

  “Okay,” Rimulth said. He pulled his bow from its case, freed an arrow from his quiver, nocked it loosely and sat down with it across his lap. He closed his eyes and willed himself to see through the spirit’s eyes once again. It happened immediately this time, a rush of sensation flooding him as the mountain wall rose before him.

  They soared up the slope until they were level with the pass, beyond which rose Temple Spike, an impossible towering edifice, thrust from the very bedrock of the world. Dark specks circled the Spike, wheeling through the sky in predatory patterns – some kind of bird of prey, he guessed. The moment it saw them, the air spirit dove for cover, panic flooding through the bond. Whatever those birds were had scared the elemental badly. It snapped open its wings and came to land some way below the pass, its claw scrabbling for purchase on the rocky incline. The mountainside was too steep to transport to – they’d have to get up into the pass for that – but the air spirit was reluctant to go anywhere near those birds. Rimulth tried to understand the spirit’s fear, and got a sense of something terrible and unnatural leaking through the bond.

  “There’s no choice!” Rimulth said aloud. “The ogres will reach Gaspi and the others if we don’t transport as soon as we can. Just fly close to the rock face – don’t rise above the pass, and they won’t see you. I need to let Voltan know what’s happening. Let me know when you’ve landed.” The air spirit acknowledged him and took off again, winging its way carefully up the slope, sticking as close to the ground as possible. Rimulth willed himself back into his body and opened his eyes.

  “What was all that about?” Voltan asked.

  Of course! He’d been speaking out loud – they would have heard every word he’d spoken. “There are some kind of birds circling the Spike. The air spirit will be in danger if they spot it, so it’s trying to find a place for us to transport to without being seen.”

  “Time is of the essence,” Voltan said. “Gaspi’s on a last run with the Eye.”

  Gaspi’s eyes flicked open. “Five more minutes.”

  “We’re going to make it!” Rimulth said.

  “Later,” Voltan said. “If Rimulth’s right, we’ll be out of here in the nick of time. Everyone gather.” The group was already on its feet, ready to fight, so it only took moments to get in position for transportation. “Let us know Rimulth,” Voltan said.

  Rimulth felt a stirring behind his navel, the tingling of magical activity. He looked around the group, trying to figure out which of them was summoning power. Perhaps it was Gaspi, channelling power into the amulet, but no, that enchantment was hidden.

  “Who’s doing that?” Voltan asked.

  “Not me!” Gaspi said. Emmy and Lydia were looking around for the source of the summoning. Rimulth’s eyes widened as realisation hit, as did Voltan’s, but none of them were prepared for the ball of force that slammed into the group and threw them against the stone. Baard cracked his head and went down. Heath was knocked out too, falling on top of Baard’s unconscious body. Sabu recovered first, back on his feet with scimitars in his hands. Gaspi picked himself, power already swirling around his fists, and when the next force strike came sizzling towards them he blocked it and threw a strike back in the direction it had come from.

  Ogres poured out onto the trail, not the ogres he’d been watching with the Eye, but a second force, coming up the trail from the valley to the south. Gaspi cursed himself. Once he’d spotted the attacking force from the North, he’d stopped checking the other trail. Clearly, more than one group of shamans had detected his magic. But this wasn’t the time for remonstrations!

  “Emmy, Lydia, Loreill, Lilly, stay with Heath!” he said, summoning another pair of strikes.

  Rimulth lifted his bow and drew an arrow. Swiftly, he released the shaft, sending it hissing through the air. It buried itself in the chest of a surprised-looking ogre, which fell to its knees with its hands wrapped around the protruding length of wood. The ogre stared at the shaft in confusion before its eyes glazed over and it fell onto its face.

  There were ten ogres in all, one of which was a Kaas, two of which were shamans, and the rest of which were Urzaaks. Voltan and Gaspi were battling the shamans, Sabu was running at the Kaas, Taurnil was fighting a pair of Urzaaks, staving off the heavy blows of their massive, stone-studded clubs with his enchanted staff. The Urzaaks weren’t skilled fighters but they were ferociously strong, and although Taurnil was holding his own, he was being driven steadily backwards. Talmo leapt atop a rock beside him, drew an arrow and aimed it at one of Taurnil’s opponents but, before he could release it, an Urzaak barrelled into him and knocked him to the ground. Rimulth unsheathed his dagger and ran in, thrusting it deep into the Urzaak’s side. It roared in pain and backhanded him in the face, swatting him aside as if he was a fly. Pain exploded in Rimulth’s face as his cheekbone shattered. He landed on his back, the hard ground knocking the wind out of him. The Urzaak pulled the dagger out of its side and cast it away, glancing dismissively at Rimulth before advancing on Talmo again. Unfortunately for the Urzaak, however, Rimulth’s attack had given Talmo time to raise his bow and draw back the string. It turned to face him just in time to receive an arrow in its eye, skewering its brain and killing it instantly.

  Talmo stood up and stepped over the fallen ogre. He helped Rimulth to his feet and, though Rimulth’s face hurt like hell, he re-entered the fray alongside his fellow tribesman. A loud screech sounded from above and Rimulth looked up to see an enormous bird diving at him, claws extended. It was twice the size of the biggest eagle he’d ever seen, its claws and beak blackened with old gore. He froze, unable to react in time, but Talmo wasn’t cowed. His bow was up, fast as thought, and an arrow shot up to intercept the new attacker. It flew wide, missing the creature’s torso but lodging in its wing. The giant bird screeched again, but this time in pain, and veered uncontrollably into the rock face, its claws scrabbling madly at the stone.

  Another loud screech sounded from above. A second bird was attacking. Both Talmo and Rimulth drew an arrow this time, but the enemy was blasted from the sky by a wave of flame, flowing from the mouth of the fire spirit as it attacked.

  “NOOO!” Lydia cried. The fire spirit was vulnerable in bodily form, and she’d already seen an elemental perish before her eyes. But the spirit ignored her, chasing the fl
aming bird as it tried to escape. It didn’t stand a chance, consumed by fierce heat. Its flaming body dropped over the ridge, streaking a fiery trail as it fell into the valley below.

  Rimulth craned his neck, looking for more of the avian attackers, but the skies were clear. The fight was finally swinging in their favour. Gaspi and Voltan had the two shamans in retreat, unable to stand up to the onslaught of the two more powerful magicians. An Urzaak lay dead on the ground, blood leaking from a terrible wound in its abdomen, and even as Rimulth lifted his bow, another Urzaak dropped with one of Talmo’s arrows in its throat. Taurnil turned aside one of the Urzaak’s clubs and smashed the butt of his staff into its face, its nose shattering on impact. With one opponent down, he turned on the other, side-stepping a vicious swing of its club and smashing its kneecap with a sharp jab of his staff. It fell to the other knee, only to take a killing blow to the larynx. It collapsed on the ground, gasping its final rattling breaths before ceasing to move. Only the retreating shamans, two Urzaaks and the Kaas were still standing. Sabu was battling with the Kaas, which roared with frustration as it tried to lay its hands on the nimble blademaster. It was bleeding from a dozen wounds, but none of them were serious. It was huge, bullish even, and very hard to kill, but the blademaster was a match for any living creature, no matter its strength and size.

  Baard groaned and rose unsteadily to his feet, the hair on the back of his head matted with blood. The giant shook his head, his eyes unfocussed, squinting at the battle in front of him.

  Just then, the sound of heavy footsteps filled the pass and, to Rimulth’s dismay, the second ogre force emerged from the north. Five shamans led the group, loping towards them with power at their fingertips. Behind them came a mass of Urzaaks and two massive Kaas. Catching sight of their quarry, they let out a collective roar that made Rimulth’s knees shake, and increased their pace as they ran towards the fray.